1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, such as an electrophotographic apparatus and the like, that performs imaging in accordance with image forming conditions.
2. Description of the Related Art
There have been proposed techniques for adjusting image quality to the desired characteristics by forming patterns on image carriers or printing media, reading the characteristics of the patterns, and correcting the density and tone of the images. In particular, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-157100 has proposed measuring the shapes of the patterns to correct process conditions (image forming conditions). The image forming conditions include the amount of charge supplied to a photoreceptor used during regular imaging, the amount of light used to form latent images, as well as the developing bias and transfer bias.
Specifically, the invention set forth in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-157100 involves measuring the shapes of patterns formed on a photoreceptor or an intermediate transfer member, predicting the quality of the output images based on the measurement results, and adjusting the image forming conditions. Furthermore, if the images are output from a terminal, said invention has proposed performing image processing by selecting, prior to image processing, the appropriate image processing method based on the measurement results and image quality prediction results obtained from an image forming apparatus.
However, in the case of the invention described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-157100, the wide variety of factors affecting the pattern shape characteristics that influence quality produces discrepancies between the image forming conditions subject to adjustment based on the pattern measurement results and the actual factors, thereby making correct feedback impossible. In addition, to find correct feedback targets, the measurements had to be performed quite a few times while varying the image forming conditions, which was very time consuming.